Sustainable Soy in Brazil

Reducing deforestation in the Amazon

Cargill is building on more than a decade of progress to protect the Amazon and advance sustainable soy production in Brazil, the world’s second largest producer of soybeans. We work with more than 15,000 soy farmers at all levels of production across the country and collaborate with industry, government and NGO partners. Our 2020 plan for sustainable soy in Brazil supports our pledge to eliminate deforestation across all our agricultural supply chains.

Soy Moratorium

In 2001, Cargill helped lead the soy working group that later established the Soy Moratorium (launched in 2006), a voluntary ban on purchasing soy produced on newly deforested land. In 2016, we worked with industry, government and civil society partners to extend the Soy Moratorium indefinitely.

More Sustainable Soybean project

In 2004, Cargill led the industry by partnering with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to pioneer a pragmatic, market-based approach to reducing deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon biome. Our work with TNC, combined with enforcement efforts by the Brazilian government and the Soy Moratorium, has helped drive an overall reduction in deforestation rates of more than 80 percent.

Brazilian Forest Code and Rural Environmental Registry (CAR)

Cargill advocates for implementation of the Brazilian Forest Code and governance through the Rural Environmental Registry, or CAR, which is expected to go into effect in December 2017 to ensure country-wide environmental land use compliance and monitoring. Steps we are taking to strengthen adoption and implementation of the Brazilian Forest Code include:

Assessments – We have assessed more than 12,000 farmers in our soy supply chain regarding their CAR status and Forest Code implementation. As of January 2017, we registered more than 60 percent of our Brazilian soy suppliers in the CAR. We are working to expand implementation of the CAR with our direct and indirect suppliers.

Training – We have trained 300 Cargill employees to evaluate and track the implementation of the Forest Code in our supply chain and encourage producers to register in the CAR. We also support the expansion of the Soya Plus Program to the MAPITOBA states of Maranhão, Piauí, Tocantins and Bahia. The CAR has been incorporated as a key performance indicator of the program and training sessions.

Monitoring – Cargill’s Geographic Information System (GIS) team utilized geospatial analysis and satellites to monitor our supply chains in Brazil and our suppliers’ adherence to the Brazilian Forest Code and farm registration system. Using a WebGIS platform, available public data and Cargill proprietary intelligence, we are working to better understand the grain supply chains in which we operate and help connect local farmers to consumers anywhere in the world.

Education – We developed and distributed 20,000 leaflets to inform and educate farmers and farmer associations about the Forest Code. We also translated and distributed 1,000 copies of IMAFLORA’s “Guide for Application of the New Forest Law to Rural Properties” to producers and international stakeholders. The incorporation of the CAR as a sourcing requirement for all soy direct sourcing will be implemented over the next few growing seasons in accordance with the new CAR enrollment legal deadline.

Commitment – Cargill signed a Cooperation Agreement with the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment to further demonstrate our support of the CAR. Enrolling in and committing to the Green Grain Protocol, which incorporates the CAR as a sourcing requirement, in the State of Pará.

Documentation – Cargill requests that all producers from which we source soy provide documentation to demonstrate they are in compliance with the CAR. Producers who fail to present the appropriate documentation are required to sign an agreement stating they will comply with the CAR legal enrollment deadlines.

Coalizão Brasil Clima, Florestas e Agricultura

We participate in the Coalizão Brasil Clima, Florestas e Agricultura, a multi-sector movement established to propose initiatives and influence public policies that lead to the development of a low-carbon economy by creating decent jobs, encouraging innovation, advancing Brazil’s global competitiveness and generating wealth across society. The group includes more than 150 companies, business associations, research centers and civil society organizations, such as TNC, World Wildlife Fund, the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (ABIOVE), Agroicone, Imazon and IPAM. Cargill co-leads the forest code implementation working group.

Soja Plus Program

Cargill is partnering with ABIOVE to expand the Soja Plus Program, an environmental and social management program for soy in Brazil.

Monitoring and training

We participate in an ongoing working group with members of industry associations – including ABIOVE and ANEC — as well as TNC, World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace, Conservation International and Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia. Mapping and monitoring efforts developed by the working group and conducted by independent specialist Globalsat, using satellite imagery from Brazil’s space agency, have documented a reduction in deforestation in the Amazon biome. The working group continues to focus on reducing deforestation and ensuring sustainable soy production in the Amazon. This effort includes significant training to help farmers comply with the Brazilian Forest Code, enhance workplace safety and use responsible agricultural practices.